Andrew Poelstra

In a fascinating discussion, Andrew Poelstra, Director of Research at Blockstream and a Bitcoin development expert, shares insights about the launch of Simplicity on the Liquid network. He delves into how Simplicity enhances Bitcoin's scripting capabilities and its role in improving transaction security through formal verification. The conversation also highlights potential applications like advanced covenants, zero-knowledge verification, and its implications for stablecoins moving to their own chains, showcasing the transformative impact of Simplicity in the blockchain landscape.

Andrew Poelstra from Blockstream joins to unveil the launch of Simplicity on Liquid mainnet, a groundbreaking programming language for Bitcoin. He explores its potential for creating safe and predictable smart contracts, reflecting nearly a decade of development. Topics include the advantages of formal verification, relative simplicity compared to Bitcoin's current scripting, and how Simplicity can unlock new capabilities while maintaining Bitcoin's core principles. The discussion emphasizes the innovative features that aim to enhance Bitcoin's scripting while protecting its decentralization.

Andrew Poelstra, mathematician and head of research at Blockstream, discusses covenants in Bitcoin Script, including op CAT and op CTV. The chapter explores the functionalities of op codes dupe and cat, the limitations of CTV, and the potential solution of CAT for more flexible transactions. They also discuss personal experiences with Wasabi and JoinMarket, the integration of Wasabi and Shop N Bit, and the future improvements needed in Bitcoin.

Average Gary, representing HashPool, discusses mining shares as eCash tokens, enhancing the efficiency of mining operations. Super Testnet shares insights on improving Lightning Network privacy, while Dusty Detmer elaborates on splicing for adjustable channel sizes. Andrew Polstra from Blockstream Research dives into Bitcoin cryptography, stressing the impact of innovation. Liam Eagan explores Bitcoin roll-ups, highlighting potential scalability solutions. Together, they navigate the evolving landscape of Bitcoin technology, fostering collaboration and privacy-enhancing tools.

A ‘paper computer’ for Bitcoin checksums and Shamir Secret Sharing may seem absurd, but that’s what we’re talking about in this episode! This project is a scheme to generate, encode, checksum, split and recover Bitcoin secret keys, using pencil, paper and lookup tables (alternately, volvelles). We discuss codex32 and the motivation behind it with Andrew Poelstra (Director of Research, Blockstream). Note this is the first of a two part episode. In this first part we discuss: Bitcoin private keys today Multi signature and Shamir Secret Sharing contrasted Where to keep shards or keys Error correction Risks with Hardware wallets (even though you should still use them) BIP39 vs codex32 Limitations of the paper computer (Volvelles) Links: codex32 website codex32 github Blockstream store Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Base58  SL links: Follow me on Twitter @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast